The chief of Pimicikamak Cree Nation in Manitoba says dozens more residents are set to be evacuated just three days after the military left the region.
Chief David Monias told Global News on Sunday that following assessments by the Canadian Armed Forces, it was determined the residents of 79 homes would have to leave.
The evacuations are expected to start Monday.
“The people residing in those homes have to be evacuated (and) probably sent to Winnipeg or Brandon,” he said.
He said they’re working with the Canadian Red Cross to start the next round.
It comes after the military left Pimicikamak on Friday.
More than 1,300 homes in Pimicikamak were damaged last month after a days-long power outage led to the failure of critical infrastructure.
Burst pipes and crawl spaces flooded with icy water and backed-up sewage forced at least 4,000 people from the community.
Monias issued repeated calls for the military to come to assist.
Earlier this month, the call was answered with the deployment of a specialized team of engineers and technical experts.
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“Basically the scope of the military was conducting technical and engineering assessments of the power outage impacts, mainly to the water and sewer treatment systems,” said Monias.
“The military came to assess, right, they didn’t come to fix. We are left with broken, damaged homes still and damaged systems and basically unsafe living conditions.”
“They provided some logistical support and situational analysis, I guess you would call it, but they (were) not there to do repairs to water or sewer infrastructure. They were not there to do household remediation and they were not there to replace damaged components.”
He said he did ask the military if they could assist with repair and remediation, but was not surprised when told that analysis was what the CAF was sent to do.
“I did meet with the commander there and asked if they would do more and they said ‘No, we don’t have that mandate, that would have to be another deployment of other resources that are experts in that are,’” Monias said. “They didn’t have those orders.”
Monias said they are still in need of help.
“Just on the houses alone we need licenced plumbers and carpenters – tradespeople – to repair the floors, walls, insulation, structural elements,” Monias said.
Global News reached out to the Manitoba government and the Department of National Defence for comment on the latest developments but did not receive a response by publication.
There is no known timeline for when the evacuated residents of Pimicikamak will be able to return home.
—with files from Global News’ Hersh Singh
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
